The boundaries between what is used to ship freight around the world and what is used to transport folk to the land of Nod of an evening are being smudged, with Travelodge”s announcement of its new hotel construction technique.
For its Uxbridge hotel, west London, the group is stacking 86 steel modules together like Lego. These look for all the world like shipping containers. It”s a remarkable likeness - from the outside at least. When finished, their interiors will be furnished with a bed, en-suite bathroom, wardrobe, mirror, desk and chair, plasma TV and tea and coffee-making facilities.
Once the exterior of the pile is ”cladded,” the whole thing will apparently look and feel no different to the budget chain's other 330 hotels ” ”You simply won't be able to tell the difference,” said Travelodge”s director of property and development, Paul Harvey.
Who on earth came up with this idea? A group spokeswoman told ABTN that engineering firm Verbus Systems suggested it would be a good way for Travelodge to keep pace with its own projection of building 40 hotels each year until 2020.
Radical ideas often seem completely crazy at first. You can imagine a bold young entrepreneur quickly wilting in the BBC Dragon”s Den for suggesting this (”Who”on”EARTH”would want to sleep in THIS? It”s a glorified dog kennel!”). But you sometimes get the feeling they”d have scoffed at anything - say, George Stephenson”s steam locomotive (or as Blackadder memorably put it, his ”moving kettle”).
This could turn out to be a genius idea. It reduces Travelodge”s costs by 10% and shaves 25% off construction time. What”s certainly genius is that if it doesn”t catch on, the hotel can be dismantled and the modules re-salvaged.
Heathrow is getting one too ” scheduled to open by the year”s end ” and a room for the night will cost ”19. Aye, now that”s a nice rub.